Journey to the West: Beginning with the Apprenticeship of Bodhi Patriarch

Chapter 202: Fighting Buddha meets the real person, Wukong helps
The story goes that Wukong rode on his somersault cloud and came to Jambudvīpa, and in a moment he entered the Southern Continent.

He had just entered the Southern Continent and was heading towards Jizhou. Halfway through his journey, he suddenly heard a voice calling from afar.

"My dear brother, my dear brother! Stop the clouds!"

Wukong thought the sound sounded familiar, so he stopped his cloud and looked towards the source of the sound, only to see the Bull Demon King coming from afar on a cloud.

When Wukong saw the Bull King, he quickly descended from the cloud, walked to the Bull King, and bowed, saying, "Brother, I greet you!"

The Bull Demon King helped Wukong up and looked him up and down. He saw that Wukong had a spiritual appearance and there was an infinite light in his body. His practice was much different from before. He smiled and said, "My dear brother, why is there such a great gift? I should be the one to pay my respects to you. You have accomplished your mission and deserve to be crowned as a Buddha."

Wukong said anxiously, "How dare you ask my brother to bow to me? You are embarrassing me to death."

The Bull Demon King said with a smile: "What position have you been awarded to me, my dear brother? Can you tell me?"

Wukong said: "I dare not hide anything. Thanks to the kindness of Tathagata Buddha, I have been given a Buddha title, which is 'Fighting and Victory Buddha'."

The Bull Demon King said: "What a great Fighting Buddha, what a great Fighting Buddha! I should congratulate you, my dear brother, for attaining this position!"

Wukong waved his hands and said, "Brother, please don't congratulate me yet. Although I have achieved the fruit position now, my practice is not worthy of it. I am not worthy of the name. If you want to congratulate me, wait until I can practice and become worthy of it in the future. When I really become the Fighting and Victory Buddha, it will not be too late to congratulate me."

The Bull Demon King admired that the present time was really different. He was not surprised by honor or disgrace. He was completely different from the past when he was given the title of "Great Sage Equaling Heaven" and was overjoyed.

The two talked for a long time in mid-air, expressing their brotherhood.

After a long time, Wukong finally asked, "I heard that you are the Dharma Protector, and you are here to look for me. Is it because of your order?"

The Bull Demon King said, "That's right, that's right. I almost forgot what I was doing. It was because the master knew you were coming that he called me to meet you and go to see the master together."

Wukong said, "In that case, brother, take me to see the eldest brother."

The Bull Demon King nodded and said, "That's right, my dear brother, please follow me and I will take you to see the master."

The two said no more, and rode on the clouds together, heading for the deserted temple in the Fen River area.

After a while, the two of them arrived at a deserted temple.

Wukong walked into the deserted temple and paid homage to the immortal.

As soon as Wukong entered, he bowed deeply and said, "Big Brother! I have lived up to your expectations and my journey to the West has been successful!"

Jiang Yuan was originally sitting cross-legged in the temple, but when he saw Wukong walk in, he stood up and said with a smile: "Junior brother, you have accomplished your mission, so I should congratulate you. Stand up and talk to me."

The immortal helped Wukong up, made him sit down, and taught him to tell him about his achievements.

Wukong then recounted the previous events and told the immortal all the matters, big and small, that had occurred behind the Lion Camel Mountain.

Jiang Yuan was not impatient. He listened to what Wukong said with a smile. The two talked in the temple for a long time.

The Bull King added fuel to the fire and listened to the two men's conversation.

Zuo Liang came closer and asked, "Master Niu, who is this?"

The Bull King replied, "This is the Fighting Buddha of Lingshan, a Buddha. He is also your junior fellow apprentice, and we are from the same school. He is a man of great magical powers, and he once caused chaos in the Heavenly Palace, killing countless gods."

Upon hearing this, Zuo Liang was trembling with fear and said in panic, "Is it really possible for me to meet someone with such supernatural powers?"

The Bull King laughed and said, "Since you followed me, you have seen many gods and immortals. Why are you so nervous when you see a Buddha?"

Zuo Liang said: "Since I followed you, I have gained a lot, but I can't forget my mortal heart, so when I see immortals and gods, I feel very anxious and uneasy."

The Bull King pointed at Zuo Liang and said, "Zuo Lao Er, you should change yourself. Otherwise, it will be difficult for you to be at ease."

Zuo Liang asked, "Master Niu, how should we change our words?"

The Bull King said, "Old Zuo, you often listen to the master's teachings, don't you remember?"

Zuo Liang was puzzled and asked, "Master Niu, you said a lot, but I don't know which one is the truth. I hope you can tell me."

The Ox King said: "Always be calm and responsive, and you will always be pure."

Upon hearing this, Zuo Liang pondered for a long time, as if thinking about something, and said no more.

In the temple, Wukong talked with the immortal for a long time. Jiang Yuan smiled as he listened to Wukong talking about one difficulty after another, and when he talked about being given the title of Fighting Buddha, he congratulated Wukong on his achievement.

After Wukong finished speaking, he stood up and bowed, saying, "Big Brother, today I have finally achieved success. I hope you will not abandon me. I will stay in the mansion and obey your orders."

Jiang Yuan said helplessly: "Junior brother, Sanxing Immortal Cave is your home. You live there, so how can you accept my orders? Besides, you are also a righteous practitioner, and your ability is not weaker than mine. If I say that you are being ordered around, it would be a bit too much."

Wukong shook his head and said, "Big Brother, I have been practicing since I was young, and have been blessed by you. In the past, you told me that practicing should cultivate the mind, but I didn't listen. Then disasters befell me, and I became distracted, struggling in the sea of ​​suffering. Fortunately, I was able to practice in the west, and with your help, I am where I am today. I should have listened to you."

Jiang Yuan said: "You and I are from the same family, there is no need to talk like this."

Wukong said: "Big Brother, even if we are from the same family, there is still the saying of brothers and sisters. The eldest brother is like a father, so I should listen to what you say."

Jiang Yuan waved his hand and said, "Since you say so, it's up to you. Have you paid your respects to the master?"

Wukong smiled and said, "I am here to visit Master. Master sent me here." Jiang Yuan said, "That's good."

Wukong looked into the temple, but saw that it had been abandoned for a long time. He saw the Bull Demon King, Zuo Liang, and asked, "Brother, who is this?"

Jiang Yuan said: "Zuo Liang, the person who follows me in cultivation."

Wukong laughed and said, "What a blessing! What a blessing! I can actually practice with my elder brother."

Jiang Yuan pointed at Zuo Liang and said, "Zuo Liang and Wukong also have some affinity with you."

Wukong was puzzled and asked, "Big Brother, how come I have a connection with Zuo Liang, but I don't remember ever meeting him?"

Jiang Yuan said: "Brother, have you forgotten the old woodcutter on the mountain in the past?"

When Wukong heard this, he just remembered and said, "I know that old woodcutter. When I first went up the mountain, it was this man who guided me. Later, we met many times. It seems that we were destined to meet. How could this man be related to the old woodcutter?"

Jiang Yuan nodded and said, "The woodcutter you saw is from the Zuo family. They came across the ocean during the Zhou Dynasty and settled in the mountains. They have lived in the mountains for generations. The woodcutter you saw is one of the generations of the Zuo family. Later, the Zuo family left the mountains and returned to their hometown. Zuo Liang is their descendant."

Upon hearing this, Wukong was surprised and said, "Zuo Liang has such a background? If that's the case, then he does have some connection with me."

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, “Many disciples of Fangcun Mountain have had a connection with the Zuo Clan.”

Wukong said: "If there is such a reason, then it should be a help to him."

Jiang Yuan smiled but said nothing.

Wukong asked again: "Big Brother, I still don't know why you are here."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan told the story of a dragon causing trouble in the Fen River, and also said that the land was no longer there.

Wukong heard this and said, "Big Brother, let me go find out the truth and find out the origin of this evil dragon so that I can help you."

Jiang Yuan said, "What can't you do?"

Wukong smiled and said, "Big Brother, as the saying goes, 'Snakes have their own paths, and mice have their own paths.' I have traveled west for a long time, so I know some paths. Let me go and find out."

After hearing this, Jiang Yuan had no choice but to let Wukong go and just said he would wait for him in the deserted temple.

After receiving the order, Wukong talked with Bull Demon King for a while and then headed towards Fen River.

The Bull Demon King watched Wukong leave and said, "Master, do we really not need to help Brother Wukong?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head and said, "Wukong went through many hardships on his way to the west. I don't know how many demons he had to deal with. He has his own ways. Let's teach him how to find out the situation here. Wukong is quite capable. Even if there are demons here, they can't hurt him."

The Bull Demon King nodded and said, "From what I've seen of his abilities, he is much better than me."

Jiang Yuan took a closer look at the Bull King, pondered for a long time, and said, "Wukong's martial arts are comparable to yours, but in terms of Taoism, Wukong is slightly better than you."

The Bull Demon King said: "I know. I had a feeling when I saw it before. I should practice diligently and catch up as soon as possible."

Jiang Yuan admired Wukong's aptitude in his heart, and thought to himself: "Brother Wukong is indeed a man born from heaven and earth, he is extraordinary, now he has completed his training, there is no more omissions, his training is improving by leaps and bounds, Bull King has also improved his skills by training with me, but he is not as good as Wukong."

……

But it is said that Wukong left the deserted temple, rode his somersault cloud, and went to the Fen River. When he was close to the Fen River, he looked into the water, and saw that the river was really "like a torrent of water, and the waves were rolling like the backs of mountains."

Wukong exclaimed in surprise, "What great water! I often travel on the road to the west and have seen many bad waters. The water here is not worse than that. I am not good at swimming, and I cannot stand the bad dragons under the water. But I came here to find out the truth and find out the origin."

Wukong looked around and chanted the mantra, wanting to send the local god to ask, but after he uttered the mantra, there was no response.

When he saw it, he rode his cloud again and flew away into the distance. When he had traveled eight hundred miles,
Wukong pressed down the cloud and walked to a mountain. He chanted the mantra again and again and sent the gods from all directions to come.

Not long after, eight land gods arrived and bowed, saying, "We are here to see the Fighting Buddha!"

Upon hearing this, Wukong asked, "How do you know that I was given the title of Fighting Buddha?"

The land god bowed and said, "Sakyamuni has already informed the three realms that the great sage has been conferred the title of Fighting and Victory Buddha. Everyone in and outside the three realms knows this, and we all know it."

Wukong said, "You can call me the Great Sage or Fighting Buddha, whatever you want. But I want to ask you, which place are you from?"

The eight landowners all gave their names, and they were all from the land near the Fen River.

Wukong asked, "Please explain to me why I cannot call upon the land and mountain gods of this Fenshui area?"

The land god bowed and said, "Fighting Buddha has just arrived, but he doesn't know that the land god and mountain god near the Fen River have eaten all the people. Does Fighting Buddha know that there is an evil dragon living in the Fen River, doing many evil things?"

Wukong said, "I want to send the gods of the Fen River, the land and the mountain, to find out where this evil dragon came from. Do you know where this evil dragon came from?"

The land god said, "Of course I know. By the way, this evil dragon has some relationship with Fighting Buddha."

Wukong scratched his head and said, "How does this have anything to do with me? Tell me how this evil dragon has anything to do with me."

(End of this chapter)